Order Only

[alt_lupin]

When we took Lucius to Saltash, he did have one suggestion I thought was interesting. Request, really, but he phrased it as a suggestion -- that we should offer to trade him for someone else. This would cover for Narcissa, I guess, and make it look like he was our unwilling prisoner being held as a bargaining chip. (As opposed to our reluctant prisoner being held because the alternative is Azkaban.)

I'm not sure what I think. I'll admit I'd be suspicious of his motives no matter what he were suggesting, though.

Comments

Private message to Pansy

[alt_lupin]

Regarding fruit, new robes, that sort of thing -- you can, if you want. He's being fed and clothed but I'm sure he'd appreciate whatever you wanted to send along.

You could write to him, but you'll need to owl the letter to me or someone else in the Order to pass along -- owls can't get into Saltash.

Private Message to Remus

[alt_alice]

I suppose our list would be rather short at the moment, wouldn't it.

Re: Private message to Pansy

[alt_pansy]

Of course.

I'll send Pig to Hitty with instructions.

Should I pretend I think he's still in Azkaban in the letters?

I suppose telling him I'm part of all this on paper instead of in person would be easier for everyone.

Re: Private message to Pansy

[alt_lupin]

If you're going to tell him you're in the Order, don't bother pretending you think he's in Azkaban; that would just be confusing.

Owls have been known to fall into the wrong hands, though. This was all easier when there were adults

[alt_sirius]

Oh, hello, you're awake! Hungry? I can have Kreacher heat up the remains of supper, or some soup if you'd rather something light.

Anyway.... I wonder who he thinks there is left to trade, since we cleaned out Azkaban. Though we still haven't found Neville or Xeno.

But I don't know if we should do it. What if ... well, whoever approves these things (Voldemort, I suppose?) says yes, he wants his prize prisoner back?

Re: Private Message to Remus

[alt_lupin]

Not necessarily. We could be offering to trade him for someone we want dead. We could implicate someone we want them to distrust by demanding them. We could confuse them immensely by demanding Maghnus Derrick.

His point was, it wouldn't work. So it doesn't matter who we want; the question is, who is it to our advantage to ask for.

[alt_lupin]

Soup.

I suppose.

Soup doesn't sound too terrible.

[alt_lupin]

Anyway I was saying to Alice that it doesn't have to be someone we actually want (and probably shouldn't be, actually, since this isn't meant to work). We could demand someone loyal, implying that they're not and possibly making them distrust them. We could say we'd trade him for Barty Crouch's head on a platter. We could demand someone we have, and confuse them because presumably they know that person's gone from Azkaban, so if they're not with us, where are they -- right?

The question isn't, 'who do we want,' the question is, 'who is it to our advantage to ask for.'

Re: Private message to Pansy

[alt_pansy]

Oh, sorry.

I meant I could either just keep writing him as I have been, and pretend as if I think he's still in Azkaban and nothing's changed, or I could write him and tell him that I'm in the Order and drop all pretense.

I'll be careful. Pig is rather good, and I'll put some safeguards in place. (And yes, I know, null field, I'm on it.)

[alt_sirius]

Soup it is.

[alt_sirius]

All right. But we can't ask for the moon, either, because then they'll know it's meant to be refused.

But in that case, it might be better to ask for someone like Rosier or Rookwood.

[alt_pansy]

Well, I suppose confusion or misdirection are both possibly useful, even though it'd probably be limited.

Would there be a way we could use this to put someone under suspicion? Make it seem like they know something they shouldn't in a way that he'd find threatening?

Re: Private message to Pansy

[alt_lupin]

If it's delivered by us, he'll certainly know you're one of us.

[alt_lupin]

If that's the angle we take, it should preferably be someone we could plausibly think was being held against their will.

Re: Private message to Pansy

[alt_pansy]

I know.

I was just checking to make sure you were all right with being open about it.

[alt_sally_anne]

Seamus Finnigan.

[alt_pansy]

Suggesting dissatisfaction sometimes is enough.

If we play it right, and it's an odd enough choice, they could wonder what makes that particular individual such a person of interest, too, which would be very uncomfortable for him or her.

Or we could make it seem like we're taking advantage of an opportunity to pull in a double agent because of the recent fallout at Hogwarts and the fact that we're worried about more people getting found out.

Mind, I've no idea how we'd give that impression without being too painfully obvious.

[alt_pansy]

Oh.

Oh, now.

That's interesting.

[alt_sirius]

I think it would be more interesting if we didn't know the part he played in detaining Professor Sprout and Neville, though.

[alt_sally_anne]

Do they know we know?

[alt_sirius]

Not necessarily, but the problem is that they have no reason to suspect Mr Finnigan, even if we tried to make it seem he's questionable. He turned in a classmate, which makes him extraordinarily cold even if he didn't know it would lead to such a major breach of the Order's security. If he had been a member of the Order, it would have been far too risky a move to make.

Rookwood's a better candidate to smear, given that he habitually writes to Malfoy in PMs despite Malfoy not having had a journal for months. But he's also enough of a liability for them (for that same reason - hey, I just thought of something. I wonder if we could get Malfoy to read us those messages if we showed him a journal?), that they just might take us up on the deal.

Have to give it more thought.